Campfires
by viper676
Summary: Take Nita and Kit, hurl them into Adirondack Park, add some rather strange elements (including an Element), add a tiny bit of romance, and boom. You've got this. R&R...! This, so far, is among my best works... I'm pleased with it.
1. Sounds of Summer

_Chapter One_

_Dawning of Summer_

The small bedroom was suddenly filled with the deafening repetitive blasts from an alarm clock, sending a small cloud of rudely startled birds up from the tree outside the window.

Nita Callahan sat bolt upright in bed, her heart pounding madly in her chest and a cold sweat pouring down her face as she struggled to bring herself fully back to reality from an extremely vivid dream. After a few wild glances around her tiny, somewhat cramped bedroom, she relaxed in the comfort of familiarity, her heart rate dropping from about two hundred beats. She dimly realized that her alarm clock was still going off, blaring a high-pitched beep that would drive anyone insane after listening to it for too long. Resignedly, she slid out of bed, quietly padded over to her clock, and punched a few buttons. By chance, she hit upon the right one, and the clock shut off.

Nita peered blearily at the digital readout on her clock and almost turned around and went back to sleep. Six AM on a Saturday morning was not her idea of fun. Halfway to the welcoming warmth and comfort of her bed, she stepped on something.

She quickly realized that there was nothing better than pain to wake one up. She gave a sharp gasp and sat down heavily on her bed, suddenly wide awake as she picked what appeared to be a piece of pencil lead out of her foot, muttering darkly all the while.

"I tell her, if she leaves her damn pencils all over the place, someone is gonna get hurt. Does she listen to me? _Noooo…_stupid Dari…I'm gonna get her for this…"

Nita peevishly slid the piece of graphite out of her foot and tossed it into the trashcan sitting by the door. She looked at the clock again. 6:01.

"Man, I _hate_ this…"

She cautiously stumbled toward her closet and picked out her clothes for the day; a pair of well-worn jeans and her favorite NYPD Bomb Squad T-Shirt. Nita slipped into both garments, then quietly padded downstairs to go find the morning paper.

The door opened with a faint squeak, and Nita slipped outside into the crisp late spring air. A large group of sparrows argued about the date, time, and weather on the first day of summer in one of the large elm trees by her home, their high-pitched voices gabbling on and on like a record permanently set on high speed. Tucking a stray lock of auburn hair behind one ear, she chuckled quietly as she listened to them, then spotted the newspaper lying on the trunk of her father's ancient Toyota. She winced, knowing the severe reprimanding the deliverers would get when her dad discovered the Y wasn't hanging straight after a half-hour of gluing, welding, and swearing. Heaving a sigh, she grabbed the newspaper, tried and failed to straighten the Y out, then walked back into the house, wondering what she was going to do when school ended on Tuesday. At least she wouldn't have to stress over tests, homework, projects, _and_ wizardry… _and_ Kit…

She smiled slightly, remembering the 31st Street incident, as she referred to it. A bright, sunny day in the middle of March, and Kit's turn to buy a car. He had had his heart set on a black 1996 Honda Civic, a welcome change from the '72 Beetle he had been driving, and no one, not even Nita, could talk him out of it. She had finally given in, and they had started to walk toward the Honda dealer on 35th Street. It was when they reached 31st and 12th when a Mustang shot past, doing easily 50 in a 40 zone. After it came a black '96 Civic, doing about 45. Next thing they saw was a police car flying by, lights on, and the Civic was pulled over as the Mustang ripped on, now doing about 60. Kit instantly turned around and walked back down 12th, heading back to the bus stop where they had been dropped off. By the time they reached the bus stop at 18th and 12th, Nita had a stitch in her side, she was laughing so hard.

Nita tossed the newspaper onto the dining room table and snapped the plastic binding keeping the paper rolled. She turned to the Comics section and leafed through it, smiling every once in a while. She glanced at the Horoscope, and, in spite of herself, found herself reading hers.

_Saturday, June 10_

_Five Stars_

_Today is _your_ day. Do what you want to do, whenever you want to. But brace yourself for unexpected news or a sudden change in plans. Tonight: Kick back and relax._

Nita reread it, then sighed, decided it was only a work of fiction, and returned to the comic _Overboard._ She quickly bored of the comics, got up, and rummaged around in the pantry for the pancake batter; she didn't feel like making them from scratch on a bright late spring morning. She puttered around the kitchen, adding milk, butter, and a bit of imitation vanilla to the pancakes before ladling them into the frying pan. As the pancakes sizzled, she heard a truck engine outside, then, it stopped, a door slammed, and there was a moment of silence. Then, Nita heard the unmistakable squeak of the front screen door, and three knocks echoed through the quiet house. She heard Dairine's voice call, "Got it!," and her little sister pounded down the stairs, nearly hit the door, and opened it.

"Oh, hi, Kit. Nita's sleeping still…"

"No, I'm not, you dummy… Kit?"

There was a moment of silence, then, a perfectly synchronized "Ooooh, _pancakes_!" from both Kit and Dairine, and in the blink of an eye, both were in the kitchen, helping Nita with her pancakes. Laughing, she pushed Kit gently out of the kitchen.

"Get out, Kit. The pancakes are a Callahan affair. Eating them is everyone's. Set the table, will you?"

Kit gave her a mock bow.

"Yes, your Royal Highness."

He dodged the clothespin Nita lobbed at him, chuckled, and did as he was asked. Dairine nudged her older sister in the ribs.

"Ooooh, someone's in love…" she muttered under her breath.

Nita went red, then raised an eyebrow.

"Better than sneaking out in the middle of the night to go visit my boyfriend…" she mumbled.

Dairine flushed deep red and shut her mouth, ladling yet another four pools of batter into the pan as Nita scooped the already-cooked pancakes onto a plate.

Four more rounds of scooping and ladling, and a large stack of steaming pancakes sat on the dining table. Nita gave her dad a hug as he poked his head into the dining room.

"Hey, Daddy. How you doing?"

"I'm okay, thanks. Hey, Dari. Hey, it's Kit! What're _you_ doing invading my home, young man?"

Kit grinned and exchanged high-fives with Nita's dad.

"Longing for a taste of your daughters' _wonderful_ pancakes, Mr. Callahan."

Nita's dad rolled his eyes.

"I'll tell you again, Kit," he said in mock seriousness. "It's Harry to you."

Kit stood to attention and saluted smartly.

"Yessir, Captain Harry, sir! Order taken, sir!"

Nita's dad tousled Kit's hair and went outside to take care of his plants.

Nita glanced at kit over her shoulder.

"Coffee?"

Kit shrugged, then nodded.

"Please and thank you."

Nita caught the clicker Dairine tossed to her, opened one of the drawers, and poked her head back above the counter.

"Is Colombian okay?" she inquired.

"Any chance you've got Irish Crème?"

"Nope. Sorry. I like that myself, but it's to Starbucks for that."

"Colombian's fine, then. Thanks."

"Cream, milk, half-and-half, sugar…"

"Cream."

_Clunk_.

"DARI!!!"

"Sorry… geez, Nita, learn how to _catch_."

Kit snickered, and had no time to react as the half-and-half cup caught him squarely in the back of the head.

"Oop, sorry, Kit. Put that down in the seat next to you… please."

Kit complied, and Nita whirled gracefully into the dining room and slid the pancake platter onto the table. Dairine sauntered casually over, and was on the verge of sneaking a pancake when Nita, without taking her eyes off the fridge shelf, threatened, "Dari, _don't you dare_ touch those pancakes, or else I'll tell you-know-who…"

Dairine glared at her, but shut up as Nita pulled out a carton of orange juice and called her dad in from the garden.

"Daddy, come on in! Breakfast's ready… and we're not starting without you!"

The reply came as if from a distance.

"Alright, alright… _HEY!_"

Nita flinched, fearing the worst.

"What is it, Daddy…?" she called.

"Whose Ford is this?"

Kit grinned at Nita, whose jaw dropped.

"Mine, Mr— er… Harry. Like it?"

"Yeah! This brand new?"

"It's an '04 Heritage F-150 XLT. Magnum/Vortec V-8 Engine."

"Nice."

Dairine and Nita exchanged looks, shrugged, laughed, and Dairine called her dad in once more, with just a bit more force.

"Dad… _please_ get in here, or the pancakes'll be _gone_…"

Harry Callahan was sitting across from Kit in the blink of an eye, trying to look innocent and casual as he unfolded the main section of the paper and scanned it.

Nita grinned, and set up the coffee filter as Dairine went to go dish out the pancakes.

A steaming mug of coffee in front of him, half a plate of delicious buttermilk pancakes, and a newspaper section in front of him, Harry Callahan felt more awake than he had ever thought possible. So he chose then to announce the next family activity.

"Hey, you guys?"

"What?" asked Dairine, her mouth full of pancake.

Nita nudged her younger sister, hen smiled. "Go ahead."

Kit, his mouth also full, nodded to show his agreement.

"It's been a while since we went and did anything together. Whaddya say… we go camping? In a couple of places… Vermont… Colorado… Montana… California…? I was thinking we hit the road the day after you get out of school."

Nita nodded. "That'd work…"

Mr. Callahan smiled, nodded, and turned to Kit.

"Whaddya think, Kit?"

Kit choked.

He quickly swallowed what was left, gulped down his glass of orange juice, and went into a coughing fit. When he finally finished, he asked weakly, "I'm coming with you?"

Nita's dad nodded. "Well, _yeah_. Didja think I was gonna leave my unrelated son out of this?"

Kit was about to thank Nita's dad and offer to pay for gas, but Mr. Callahan talked him out of it.

"No, no, Kit… s'okay! You coming or not?"

Kit nodded.

"Uh-huh. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Harry Callahan nodded, then broke out in a grin.

"Nita, what did you say you just bought?"

Nita hesitated.

"Ummm… Honda Element."

"Kit… you've got the truck… and I've got my Camry… well, then, it's settled! What're we waiting for? Go home, start packing! Let's g, let's go let's go!"

Kit chuckled, ate his last pancake, then grabbed the plates, washed them, dried them, and put them away.

He was turning away from the cabinet when he caught the image of his keys sailing through the air at him. With a slight jingle, Kit caught them deftly, smiled at Nita, then touched two fingers to his right eyebrow in a salute and slipped out the front door. Nita heard a truck engine start up, the pull away. She smiled slightly, then went up to her room to go read. She had plenty of time.


	2. Monday Afternoon

_Chapter Two_

_Monday Afternoon_

Nita sat in physics class, fidgeting with her pencil and wondering just _how_ she was supposed to know the gravitational force between two protons is relevant to the amount of electrostatic force between them. So far as she had heard (not as far as she had hoped), Hundtar's countless boring lectures hadn't covered anything relevant to the topic.

_And just _how_ am I supposed to use this in the real world? _Nita thought.

_It's not like it's gonna be a huge part of my job or something…_

She realized suddenly that all eyes were on her, and Mr. Hundtar loomed over her. He was usually a very patient teacher, quick-witted and sarcastic (though his lectures were just the opposite), and as Nita looked up at him, she prayed that his good humor would hold.

Mr. Hundtar looked sternly down at her, then asked, "How are you supposed to use this in the real world, Nita? Let me tell you something. You may not _think_ that memorizing all this junk about protons, neutrons, and atoms might help you, and, hey, you might be right. And yeah, you're right about it not being a huge part of your job. But, unfortunately for you, this is a _core_ _class_. It's like asking 'How the heck is PE going to affect me buying a home?' It won't… unless your real estate agent grabs your purse and runs. _Then_ it might."

Nita felt herself going extremely red, and her throat went dry.

To her immense surprise, Hundtar grinned.

"But, hey, it's a whole load of huge, useless words you can use to irritate your friends."

He smiled thinly at her and walked back to his desk, leaving Nita feeling extremely stupid and equally embarrassed. She stared blankly at her test paper, and suddenly found that she knew the answer the question she had been interrupted on. She filled the answer in and went on.

Fourteen minutes later, Nita turned her test in, uncomfortably aware that every pair of eyes in the room were on her. There were a few muffled snickers as she sat down, but she ignored them and waited for the second-to-last bell of the school year to ring and let her out.

Six minutes ticked by, then, at precisely 2:45 PM Eastern Time, the bell rang. One day of school left before she could kick back and relax.

Nita grabbed her backpack, slung it over one shoulder, and walked out of the classroom, heading for the parking lot.

She was halfway to the lot when Kit popped up out of nowhere.

"How'd the finals go?"

Nita shrugged. "Easy enough."

She didn't dare mention being totally embarrassed by Hundtar and her own big mouth, lest Kit die of laughter.

Kit rolled his eyes, but left the subject.

"Need anything for the camping trip?" he asked.

She nodded, a grin flitting across her face.

"A _lot_. Wanna drop by Sport Chalet on the way home?"

Kit smiled back.

"Why not? I'll meet you there."

Nita nodded, then called after his retreating back, "The one over by Pep Boys!"

Kit nodded and walked quickly to his pickup, vaulted into the driver's seat, and pulled out behind Nita's silver Element, drumming his fingers on the wheel to the beat of _Freebird_ by Lynard Skynard. Nita finally found a gap in traffic, and gunned the Element into the flow. Kit watched until the light supplying traffic past the parking lot driveway turned red, then shifted into first and gave the hungry V8 the gas.

He followed Nita through a myriad of turns and lights, then finally spotted her car parking in front of Sport Chalet. He shifted over a lane and ducked into the lot, trying to find parking. He found one beside the front doors, parked, and caught Nita just as she walked inside the store. He gave her a light punch in the arm and took the list Nita handed to him.

"Wow. Any specifics?" he asked.

It was Nita's turn to sock him.

"Whatever's on the list, pal. Go, you dummy!"

She gave him a gentle push, and Kit grabbed a cart and headed toward the Camping section.

Kit looked over the handwritten list once more. Evidently, Nita's dad had a pretty good trip planned, as he had written the list out.

_Tent- Coleman 3 Person._

_Tent- Whatever you guys want._

_Lantern- Coleman._

_4 Flashlights_

_Matches_

_5 canteens_

_3 Jansport Backpacks (small size)_

_Compass_

_First aid kit_

_The rest Nita'll take care of or we have._

Kit took a breath, then grinned.

"Okay… then let's do this."

_Half an hour later_

Nita heaved the tent into the bed of Kit's pickup and slammed the door.

"Okay," she said, her face flushed. "Let's go home."

Kit nodded and slammed the rear tailgate of the pickup shut.

"I'm gone."

He climbed in, gunned the engine, and led the way back to Nita's house to drop off the goods.


	3. Preparations

_Chapter Three_

_Preparations._

Tuesday had passed in a blur of talk, hugs, and activity.

Nita sat at the dining room table with her father, Dairine, and Kit, discussing what was going to happen the next day.

"Okay, Nita," her father said, half business now. "Here's what's gonna happen. You and Kit are gonna go out to a little town up in Adrionack State Park. Got that? Okay. You are to take your Element, Nita, and Kit is to leave the truck here. I'll take the truck up separately, with Dairine, and I'll meet you two there Thursday afternoon at about two PM. I'm giving you two directions on how to get there from here, so that's ensured. Pack a tent, if you need it, sleeping bags, water and food, and take a lantern. Bug repellant… um… I think that's all you'll need."

"So we're staying in Johnsburg?" Nita inquired.

"Nope. It's all in the directions and agenda."

Kit squirmed uncomfortably, and Nita's dad looked at him.

"Whatcha need, Kit?"

Looking sufficiently unsure of himself, Kit told the family, "Um… sorry if this doesn't work, but Mom and Dad want me to bring Ponch and Emily."

Nita raised an eyebrow as her dad and Dairine chuckled.

"I expected that… bring 'em along," Nita's dad nodded.

"Okay… great!" Kit sighed, relieved. "What time should I be here?"

Nita's dad looked at the clock on the oven stove.

"Five AM work for you?"

Kit nodded. "Yeah."

Nita interrupted, beside herself with curiosity.

"Hey hey hey hey hey… wait a minute. Who the heck is _Emily_?" she asked pointedly.

Kit blinked, then laughed.

"I thought I told you. We got a kitten over the weekend. Real cutie, but she'll rip your head off if she doesn't like you. Calico."

Nita rolled her eyes. "Oh. And she hasn't killed Ponch yet?" she needled.

Her father interrupted.

"Okay, end of discussion. I want you two to call me once you get up there. And _don't try_ going to

Times Square first, you two. If you're gonna stop, do it anywhere _but_ Times Square. Do I make myself clear?"

Both nodded, and Kit asked, "What about my Silverado?"

Harry Callahan blinked. "What kind of job _do_ you have, Kit?" he asked curiously.

Kit shook his head. "I got it for my birthday from my aunt. She works at a Chevy dealership."

Nita's dad laughed, then said, "If you can hitch it up to Nita's Element, that's fine. So long as no one steals it."

Nita got up and, holding her arms above her head, stretched. Kit took the opportunity to lean over and zap her in the ribs. She socked him gently and sat back down, barely bothering to hide a huge yawn.

Kit laughed, then got up.

"Well, it's late, and we've got an early morning tomorrow… see you guys in the morning."

 He winked at Nita, who blushed, then with a "G'night, you guys," stepped outside into the gentle summer rain starting to come down, and shut the door. Nita sighed, smiled slightly, and headed upstairs for a nice warm shower.


	4. Vacation in Heaven

_Chapter Four_

_Vacationing in Heaven_

"Nita… hey, Nita!"

Nita cracked an eye opened and discovered it was daylight, and there were birds singing.

So she jammed a pillow over her head.

"Nnnnhhh…" she mumbled, desperately trying to catch those last fringes of sleep that were rapidly trailing away from her.

"Ni-TA!"

Nita lost her temper at that.

"What, Kit?!" she snapped irritably, her eyes snapping open and sparking with irritation and grogginess.

Kit backed off, looking apologetic, and Nita instantly felt bad. But the fact that she had been _so_ close to regaining some sleep still irritated her, and so she didn't feel _extremely_ bad. Which took her morality notch down a few clicks and made her feel even worse.

Struggling to keep her voice calm and even, she forced a smile and asked, "Go ahead, Kit…"

Her partner in wizardry shuffled cautiously around her, keeping his distance as if afraid she might kill him.

_And he has a right to be afraid,_ Nita thought bitterly.

"I'm just unloading everything here… I got permits while you were asleep and set up camp here."

Nita squinted against the glare of the sun filtering down through the numerous deciduous and evergreen trees that surrounded the peaceful campsite, and, rubbing her eyes, sat up slowly.

The first thing she saw was a well-constructed gray and black Coleman tent for two people, sitting in a ray of dying evening sunlight, a fluorescent bulb lantern hanging from a piece of twine strung up between two oak trees. The second thing she saw took her breath away.

A clear, moderately wide, rather slow-moving creek bubbled its merry way out of a small copse and cascaded over a six-foot waterfall just behind where the tent stood, and then chuckled and burbled out across the campsite and into the forest bordering the other side of the grounds. About thirty feet after the six-footer falls, the creek widened into a true stream, about four feet at its deepest point, because of another creek that ran into it. As Nita followed the tributary upstream, her eyes widened as she beheld what that creek came off of.

About a half-mile from where the two creeks converged, a grand sight met her eyes; a huge, glistening curtain of water cascading down at least twenty feet before it crashed into the deep pool below. Nita looked at Kit, who grinned at her and ducked back into the Element, lugging out a tackle box and fishing poles. She rolled her eyes as he winked at her, then placed them back inside the Honda.

Struck by a sudden thought, Nita looked over her shoulder, then all around her.

"Kit, where're Emily and Ponch?"

Kit shrugged nonchalantly.

"They're out somewhere. D'you want me to bring them back?"

Nita shook her head.

"Nah, s'okay."

She climbed out of the Element and slammed the doors shut. She looked up at the sky and the sun position, then muttered, "S'almost eight thirty."

Kit nodded.

"Yup. Twelve hours of driving, two fillups on the way here. I dunno about you, but I'm hungry," he said, picking the last remark out of thin air.

Nita suddenly realized she hadn't eaten since last night's clam chowder and cornbread, and her stomach growled.

"Oh, geez… Kit, yeah, I'm hungry."

Kit unzipped his otherspace claudication once more, then pulled out a small cooler.

"Ham sandwich?" he asked her, a smile sliding across his face.

She grinned back at him, stuffing her hands in her jean pockets and scuffing the ground with one worn sneaker.

"Please and thank you," she said quietly.

Kit nodded kindly and set about making it for her.

Nita walked over to the river's edge and sat down in the dirt, wrapping her arms around her knees and pulling them up to her chest. She gazed into the cold, clear waters of the creek, then realized there were fish in the calm pool of water on her right. She leaned over, being careful not to cast any shadows onto the water, and looked into the deep, still water that spun off from the river.

Indeed, a few good-sized trout and perch circled around the rocky bottom of the pool, nibbling on the miniscule bits of algae that littered the bottom. A few crayfish finned lazily about, skimming in and out of crevices amongst the rocks and boulders scattered around the pond.

Kit looked over his shoulder at Nita's back, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she gazed into the streamside pool, her eyes sparkling at the prospect of two days alone here. His thoughts turned wistfully to Nita herself as a gentle breeze blew a few strands of her reddish-brown hair over one shoulder, rippling the supple strands gently in the cool wind.

Kit realized Nita was still waiting for her sandwich, and he quickly laid it out, added lettuce, mustard, and mayo, tossed another piece of seedless rye on top of it all. He looked at it carefully, then smiled.

"Nita, come on over. Dinner's here."

Nita made a noise somewhat between a squeak and an indignant 'Hey!' as Kit finished Saran wrapping the sandwich and tossed it to her. She caught it, unwrapped it, and tore into the sandwich ravenously.

She closed her eyes dreamily and savored the rich flavor of the sandwich as Kit yawned widely and ducked into the tent. Nita ate slowly, enjoying every bite of the food and the warmth of the sun's rays as they shone through the trees, bathing her in a dying golden light. Nita finished off the sandwich within a few more moments, tossed the Saran Wrap into a trash can, and ducked into the tent, kicking off her shoes before she did so.

Kit lay on his sleeping bag, his nose buried in the June/July issue of _Hot Rod_ Magazine. He looked up briefly as Nita entered and said quickly, "Uhm, Neets, you might want to watch where you put your head…"

Nita looked, smiled halfheartedly, and moved the indignant Emily off her pillow, then put her head down and looked up at the sky from inside the tent. She heard a bear come prowling by, and was surprised to her Kit say softly, "Hey, Bill. How'd your honey raid go?"

The bear poked its furry brown head into the tent and yawned widely. Emily looked at the huge animal, then promptly curled back up and went to sleep again.

The bear sniffed elegantly. _Fine. Two sections of honeycomb I obtained. Tell me I'm not good._

Kit grinned widely and ruffled the bear's fur gently. "You're good, you're good. Now, off with you, you great furry lump of fur."

The bear rolled its eyes and, with a final snort, lumbered off. Nita looked at Kit, who grinned after the bear, then returned to his magazine. Nita looked curiously at the cover, then asked, "You gonna touch the '97 1500s your uncle handed down to you?"

Kit nodded.

"Uhh… yeah. I'm lowering and tuning the working one. My current car project."

This was acknowledged with a derisive snort from Nita. "And so your aunt bought you a brand new Silverado?"

Kit shrugged. "Hey. I bought the F-150 four days before this all happened. I had no idea, alright?"

Nita looked ashamed of herself, and avoided his gaze, her face flushing. "I'm sorry, Kit… I'm just a bit tired. No hard feelings, alright?"

Her longtime friend and wizardry partner blinked at her, then laughed, surprised.

"Was that really something to be sorry about? I mean, well, hey, maybe I deserved that," he smiled. "If anything, _I _should be tired; I'm the one that drove all the way here."

Nita looked embarrassed now, her shame ebbing away as she realized Kit had just forgiven her.

"Oh… um…" she stammered, her cheeks going red as she realized just how stupid she sounded. "…Okay… uh, thanks."

An awkward silence fell inside the tent, broken by the crinkle of paper as Kit turned the pages of the magazine, and a few occasional yips from Ponch and the angry chitter of the squirrels he was chasing. The creek burbled its way on behind the tent, and Nita was unsurprised to see the outline of a mountain lion come around to the opening of the tent and paw gently at the unzipped flaps.

Kit looked up from his magazine. "Dai'stiho, brother," he said in the Speech.

The big cougar looked at Kit, growled, and padded over to him, entering the tent.

_Have you come in Life's name, and in Life's Sake, to use the Art…_

"…for nothing but the service of that Life, that I will guard growth and ease pain, and that I will fight to preserve what lives and grows in its own way?" Kit finished.

The cougar placed its paws on Kit's chest, pinning him to the ground.

_I will tolerate no insolence from junior wizards,_ it snarled, then, it grinned broadly and moved off, letting Kit off. _But of course, Christopher, you are n junior wizard. And neither are you, Juanita,_ it added as a sidelong comment, with a glance and smile to Nita, who grinned back and said brightly, "Evening, Bryce. What brings you here?"

Bryce curled up inside the tent, placing his head on his front paws.

_Boredom, mainly. I got tired of Paradise Beach, and so I came up here. Adirondack Park is much nicer._

Kit nodded. "Gotta agree. The hunters leave finally?"

Bryce shook his feline head again, his emerald eyes moist with grief and sparking with rage.

_They set up permanent residence. Some of Paradise Beach_ _is now a hunting range._

Nita buried her face in her hands.

The previous year, they had met Bryce while on a minor errantry to the Paradise Beach area. Bryce, his mate, and his cub had joined Nita and Kit on relocating the hunter population away from that area, a renowned cougar habitat. Tragically, Bryce had lost his mate and his cub to the poachers, who skinned them and sold the bodies to museums across the US and Europe. Nita had been strongly emotionally affected by the slaying of the cougars, as Bryce's mate had carried the same name and a very close personality to Nita's late mother, Betty.

Bryce shrugged his muscular shoulders.

_If I have any problems, it's okay if I come to you two?_

Kit nodded.

"Yeah. Anytime. We'll be here for a while."

Bryce nodded, turned, and slunk out of the tent, disappearing with a bound into the woods.

Kit watched Nita for a while, then touched Nita's shoulder gently.

She raised her tear-stained face from her hands, looking thoroughly miserable, small, frightened, and alone in a huge world.

"Why did she have to leave, Kit? _Why?_ _Why_ did she leave me here, with Dad, with Dari? It's… just not fair!"

Nita shook her head in frustration, tears trickling slowly down her face. "He killed my mother. He _killed_ her."

Kit knew all too well whom the _he_ she was referring to was. The One Power who rebelled against the others, preferring instead to take refuge in the shelter of dark magic; the One who created entropy, and filled men's bones with his creation. The One who was responsible for all the miserable people and happenings in the world.

The One who had, indeed, killed her mother.

As all these thoughts and others chased themselves though Kit's mind, only one made itself clear to him.

It came from the small part of his mind that was fascinated with cars, with basketball, with NASCAR, and with girls his age; the part of his mind that had started 'revving up' when he hit thirteen.

The thought: _She looks really good in that outfit._

Nita choked back a sob as Kit put a comforting arm around her, patting her back awkwardly, but reassuringly, telling her that he would be there for her whenever she needed a hand. She sniffed, wiped her eyes, and laid her head gently on Kit's shoulder, closing her eyes as she did so.

Behind their backs, Kit found Nita's hand, and touched it gently. She took it slowly, intertwining her fingers with his, and a ghost of a content smile flitted across her weary features as she began to drift off to sleep.

Kit tapped her shoulder gently, and she reluctantly opened one eye.

"Nnnnhhh?"

Kit rolled his eyes at her.

"You might want to take your contacts out before you go to sleep, Neets…" he pointed out, ever the practical one.

She gave him a small, genuine smile, stood up, and exited the tent, looking at herself in her Element's rearview mirror, picking her contacts out and dropping them into the saline capsule she carried in her purse. Finally succeeding in removing both contacts, she locked her car, crawled back into the tent, and zipped the flap up. She slid into her sleeping bag, giving a small, content sigh of relief as the sun finally dropped below the trees, and crickets started to chirp in the thickets around them.

Nita rolled over in her bag and looked across the tent at Kit, illuminated by the soft glow of the fluorescent lantern that was sitting in the middle of the tent. He was lying on his back, gazing up at the stars through the transparent mesh at the top of the tent.

"Nita?"

"Hmmm?"

"Isn't it amazing… the fact that we have to take care of this whole galaxy… our planet… _and_ get on with the rest of our lives, without passing out?"

Nita laughed softly.

"Yeah, Kit. It is."

Kit smiled as well, looking at Nita from across the tent.

Nita grinned shyly back, keeping her gaze on the floor of the tent as she did so.

_Oh, God…he _does_ look good. I can't believe I'm crushing on my best friend!_

Kit sniffed gently across the tent, and Nita watched him, then grinned.

"Hey, el niÔo…"

Kit threw a pillow at her, muttering darkly in Spanish.

"Cierra la boca y dormise," he laughed.

Nita raised an eyebrow.

"Shizukane, baka baka no niwatori!" she shot back, giggling like a schoolgirl.

Kit shook his head and, reaching out, turned off the lantern.

"I can't take Japanese. Spanish is my limit."

Nita touched his hand, and when he tapped hers in return, she slipped her hand into his. Kit smiled sleepily, then, with a yawn and a "G'night, Nita," dropped off into a deep, peaceful sleep; the first he'd had since tenth grade had started.


	5. A Taste of Darkness

__

Chapter Five

A Taste of Darkness

"RarararaRARARARA…"

__

Thunk.

"PONCH!!!"

Nita's eyes flew open and she rolled over in her sleeping bag, shocked into wakefulness at Kit's surprised yell. She stared, open-mouthed, then burst out laughing as Kit flailed pathetically at Ponch, who slurped Kit's face, yipping delightedly and whacking Kit in the leg with his tail.

"Kitkitkitkitkitkitkit! You awake?"

Kit groaned, his voice coming out as little more than a strangled wheeze, mainly due to Ponch's two front paws, which were firmly planted on his "Boss's" chest.

"I am… though I'd be a lot better if you _got off my chest_," Kit hissed.

Ponch obediently removed his paws, then pranced giddily around Kit as he sat up, massaging the sore area where Ponch's paws had been.

Nita bit her tongue, going red in the face as she struggled to keep from laughing as Kit stared at her, trying to preserve what was left of his dignity.

With all the finesse he could muster, Kit asked haughtily, "What?"

Nita snickered, caught herself, and lost it again, dissolving into an uncontrollable fit of laughter as Kit looked on in bewilderment.

He shook his head, muttering under his breath, "I'll never understand teenage girls…"

Emily pranced into the tent, her head held high, tail erect, then promptly dropped the pose and skittered over to Kit, where she looked up at him and said "Mew."

__

I'm hungry. Tuna?

Mumbling darkly under his breath, Kit unzipped his otherspace claudication and pulled out a can of tuna, opened it, and set it in one corner of the tent. Emily bounded over and, abandoning all traces of dignity, buried her face into the tuna can and began eating ravenously.

Nita, pink-faced and slightly disheveled, finally stopped laughing, her giggles fading away to the occasional snicker as she remembered the moment of comedy.

Kit shook his head, then got up, stretched, and walked out of the tent. Nita, now starting to shake with silent laughter, shook her head and fumbled in her purse for her pair of glasses.

She found them, slipped them on, and was about to lie down when a loud, mechanical roar cut through the natural surroundings of the forest, followed by a yell from Kit.

Nita was up and out of the tent in a second. Kit, breathing hard and white-faced, stood across from a shining '68 Shelby GT500, clearly never been driven, and equally obvious that its main goal was to take out Kit and Nita.

The Mustang was a terrifying beauty to behold; brand new, except for the fact that it lacked the front pair of driving lights, finished in a bullet silver paint job with twin, pitch black Le Mans racing stripes running the length of its body. Both Kit and Nita would have loved the car if it wasn't about to kill them both.

As it was, Kit stared at the Mustang, watching it warily, knowing that one false move would turn him into instant roadkill. The Mustang's V8 rumbled threateningly, the headlight covers dilating as it focused on Kit.

Nita didn't move, didn't breathe as she watched the Mustang back slowly toward the thickets, the engine revving occasionally, ominously, as if warning Nita and Kit that they only had a few seconds to live.

Kit went mad. Throwing caution into a bonfire, catching the ashes, and throwing the ashes to the wind, Kit made a mad dash for his Chevy Silverado. The engine started before Kit had even reached the cab, and the door swung open to allow Kit inside. The door closed, and the truck's V8 yowled a hefty challenge.

The Mustang, which had been eyeing Nita hungrily, dropped the mortal in favor of a pickup. The steering wheel spun to the right as the Mustang twitched its nose to face the Silverado.

Inside the cab of the Chevy, Kit gripped the wheel tightly, knowing his and Nita's lives were on the line, and was prepared to die trying to keep Nita safe.

The truck, however, had other ideas, and did not intend to let its driver interfere with its duty.

Three hundred and fifty horses were let loose as the Mustang's Goodyears spun and bit into the dirt, lunging straight for the front grille of the truck.

Kit jammed the gas down, and was horrified to find that the truck's engine revved, despite the fact that the truck was an automatic.

"Oh _s_," Kit hissed, panicking. "C'mon, you stupid thing… MOVE!" He frantically flipped switched and hit levers, trying to find the object that kept the truck from moving.

The Mustang drew closer and closer, intent on the kill.

What it did not expect is the fact that the truck's knobby off-road tires provided eight times more grip than the Mustang's racing treads. Kit, taking his foot off the gas, was surprised to feel the truck lunge forward, going from a standstill to sixty miles an hour in six seconds.

Kit barely had time to shield, close his eyes, and hope for the best.

Nita could only watch in horror as the Silverado slammed into the Mustang, smashing the hood of the Mustang in and instantly destroying the big block engine. Instantly, the hood began to reform, the engine to sputter, then to roar, and the Mustang was a shining, new vehicle again, but even more intent on the taste of blood than ever before.

The Silverado's engine roared again, and this time, it rolled straight over the Mustang, ripping the roof off and sending the dashboard flying everywhere.

The gas gauge landed at Nita's feet, and, terrified, she backed away from it, her gray eyes wide with fear.

Something in her head hissed, _The gauge needle!_

Nita looked at the gas gauge needle, and was just in time to see it move another quarter inch toward the empty mark as the gauge rolled back toward the car, and the Mustang began to reknit itself.

__

Kit, she hissed urgently through mindspeak. _Keep hitting it. There's only so much it can take before it dies._

Kit's mind voice came back, clear but urgent. _Do I have a choice? Help me, you idiot!_

Nita managed a scared nod, and her eyes went wide with terror as the Mustang whirled and came at her. She sidestepped quickly, but not enough to avoid the right-side rearview mirror taking a good chunk out of her arm. Nita gasped with pain, clutching her arm, and, her glasses hanging askew, coordinated an immense blast of energy roughly equivalent to the force of a Peterbilt tractor and fully loaded trailer slamming into an object.

She squinted though her shattered glasses, then, coordinating the Mustang, sharply spoke the syllable of release. She reeled back, as if struck by a large blow, as she felt the energy drain out of her body and into the blast. She sank, shaking, to her knees, where she watched the energy ball streak toward the car with no little satisfaction.

The Mustang had no time to move before it was blown into about ninety little parts by the force of the impact.

Quivering with weariness and from loss of blood, Nita took the same spell, alternated the power guidelines, then fired another shot. It missed horribly.

Trembling and quivering weakly, Nita wiped the blood off her face, then fired off another shot, ripping the trunk and rear axle off the Mustang, fervently hoping that Kit would seize the opportunity to finish the Mustang off.

Kit did. Or, more correctly, it was the truck.

The Mustang crumpled and twisted as the Silverado hit it multiple times, intent on pounding the passenger side door straight through the driver's side door.

The gas gauge finally hit empty.

The Mustang glowed red, and a piercing shriek rent the air as the beaten, battered body of the old Ford, in pain, overthrew the command to kill, sending it screaming up into air, burning and disintegrating, showering down onto the forest floor in tiny ashes.

Nita staggered up from the ground, panting and throwing her arms around Kit as he came unsteadily over to her, blood streaming from a large gash on his forehead.

Kit hugged her back, and he noticed the large gash in Nita's arm. He winced, then took blood from his own forehead and wove it into a minor surgical spell for his friend. He applied it, and watched, satisfied, as Nita's skin reformed, the muscle strengthened itself, and her arm was whole again.

Nita gave him an even tighter hug, squeezing most of the air out of him, and only when he began to choke did she let go.

Massaging his throat, Kit managed to croak, "D'you get the feeling that that was only the beginning?"

Nita's eyes sparkled. "What? The hug? Or the Mustang?"

Kit laughed, watching the GT500 rebuild itself one last time, idle, then shut itself off, obedient to Nita and Kit's wills for the rest of its life.

"Both," he told her, slipping an arm around her waist. She didn't resist.


	6. Afternoon Shade

Chapter Six

Afternoon Shade

A/N: Okkkay… so. I'm baaaack… I was writing this, totally uninspired for the latter dialogue, and so I flipped to KEARTH 101 (Los Angeles's Oldies Radio) and listened to a few songs. See if you can name the one I used. ()s will indicate the section.

The sun rose above the nine o'clock mark, beaming down as Nita applied the finishing touches to an antipollutant spell for the river. She looked at the spell matrix, approved it, then passed it to Kit, who looked it over with a careful eye.

"You missed a spot," he told her, pointing to a tiny, empty area in the lower half of the matrix.

Nita looked at it, then at Kit, surprised. "Um, Kit? That's… kinda to let the little organisms in the water live. If I wipe them out along with the pollutants, the whole ecosystem collapses."

Kit flushed, embarrassed. "Sorry," he muttered, kicking aside a dead twig with one sneaker in a shamed manner.

Nita looked sympathetic. "S'okay," she said, feeling somewhat awkward at Kit's display of emotion when he was usually so taciturn.

Kit nodded, still looking embarrassed, then returned to his work on his old Chevy 1500, occasionally popping out of sight to go find some parts.

It was during one of these times that Nita found herself thinking wistfully of him.

Nita paused midway through rechecking her spell matrix as her wandering mind jumped from the topic of school to the topic of Kit. Her Kit file had been there for as long as she could remember, but it was only recently that another subfolder had been added to the file, under the category of romance.

She had found midway through the eleventh grade school year that she had a crush on Kit. She knew he didn't know, but she had thought up the idea of the trip just to be with him, and, hopefully, take the opportunity to tell him she liked him.

Easier said than done.

It was _so_ easy when he was asleep or not around, to hold a conversation with him in her mind. Last night, she'd been _so_ sure she would tell him this morning. But, upon the time she'd set to tell him, she had taken one look at Kit's face as he made a late breakfast for both of them, and found she couldn't say anything at all.

Afraid of rejection, are you? a voice taunted in her head.

No, she's not. She's just being cautious, her practical voice responded.

Cautious? Bull. She's afraid_ Kit'll tell her he's just friends, and she'll feel really stupid! _the fun-loving side of her cried.

This is only her second time telling a guy she likes him. Give her a break!

Why should I? She has to start somewhere. Go kiss him, then. Or at least hug him.

What if Kit doesn't respond the way she wants him to? What if he shrugs her off like she's nothing?

Like I said, afraid of rejection_!_ _He put his arm around her not an hour and a half ago! What's there to be worried about?_

It was a friendly thing. Hormones, hormones, and hormones. That's what to worry about.

Yeah, yeah, whatever. What harm c…

BAM.

Kit walked back into the campsite with a new carburetor floating beside him and a few new spark plugs. He smiled at Nita, and she blushed furiously, praying he didn't notice, and walked over to his side as he lifted the hood of the 1500.

"Hey, Kit."

"Um… hi, Nita. Whatcha want?"

Nita opened her mouth, and discovered, again, that she couldn't say anything. Her brain froze, and she desperately tried to think fast.

"What're you doing to the truck?"

Kit grinned, still looking at the engine.

"Replacing the spark plugs and all. The carburetor's shot, the spark plugs are shot… I'm just gonna replace them, and, if that doesn't work, the engine goes into tomorrow's refrigerators."

Nita frowned, forgetting her Crush-on-Kit subject for the time.

"But then what about the air filter? Dontcha have to change that, too?"

Kit shook his head, pulling one of the spark plugs out of the engine and looking at its fried head.

"Nope. Air filter's fine. Look at this spark plug."

He handed it to Nita, and she winced. Its cast-aluminum oxide head was rusted, corroding, and about to snap off. She looked at Kit, who nodded. "Scrap this one, too," he said, handing her another totaled plug.

Nita gazed at the spark plugs, then spoke a short syllable. The plugs instantly went though nine million years' time in four seconds, disintegrating into dust, then blowing off into the wind. She dusted her hands off and watched Kit fling the carburetor out into the air, where it similarly disintegrated and blew away on the gentle breeze. He carefully fitted the new carb into position, bolted it in, then put the hood down and climbed into the cab.

Nita shielded.

Kit mock glared at her from inside the cab, minorly amused, his hand halfway to the ignition.

"Ha, ha. _Very_ funny, Nita. Anyways, here goes…"

Kit turned the key, and the engine sputtered to life, then revved as the gas went to the floor.

Kit blinked, surprised, then grinned. "Aw_right!_" he cried, punching the air with one fist.

The engine chose that sweet moment of victory to jam, put a piston through the hood, and send up a cloud of smoke from under the hood.

There was a frustrated swearword from Kit, the slamming of a door, and the smoke, the flying piston, and the entire engine instantly disappeared as Nita spoke another small string of syllables.

Kit sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and dropped a transit circle. He gave Nita a small smile as he altered the coordinates, then stepped onto the circle and vanished.

Nita stared at the spot where he had been, then, with a forlorn sigh, looked at the spell matrix, checking it over one last time. Finding that it satisfied her, she looked at the river, thought for a moment, then spoke a few quiet syllables, and the matrix in her hands shimmered slightly, then leapt from her hands onto the river, conforming to the stream's shape in a millisecond, then went dark, successfully in place.

Breathing hard, Nita wiped the perspiration off her forehead and, with a quiet groan, crouched down on the streambank, watching the effects of the spell take place. The water cleared slightly, and, to Nita, it seemed that the sun sparkled on the undulating surface ripples even more vigorously than before, bathing the whole campsite in water reflections. She smiled, kicked her sandals off, and flung them in the general direction of the tent, preferring to dangle her feet in the cool river water than to blisters on her feet.

She lay back and closed her eyes, listening to the birds chirping and singing in the streamside oaks. A gentle breeze blew through the trees, rustling the leaves in its quiet, conversational way as it blew down towards the river's drainage lake.

A quiet smile played over Nita's face as a feeling of peace and contentment washed over her.

Some might say there was no place like home, Nita thought to herself, _and they hate the forest. Frankly, I can't get away from home _enough_. Maybe you could say this is _my_ home. Surrounded by nature, lying in the shade of an oak tree, and…_

She heard someone sit down beside her, and, knowing who it was, didn't bother opening her eyes.

…lying beside Kit.

"Hey, Kit," she said slowly.

Kit blinked, surprised. "Howdja know it was me?" he inquired curiously.

Nita gave a slow shrug. "You're you," she murmured.

She heard Kit laugh, then she caught the sense of him thinking behind the laugh. Seizing the opportunity, she tapped into his thoughts.

…maybe… she heard him think.

What's this maybe_ stuff? She _does_!_

Think I should ask her?

Nita's heart raced, and she hurriedly slipped out of Kit's mind.

She heard him take a breath, then say somewhat confidently, "Hey, um, Nita? You awake?"

She opened one eye and grinned at him. "How awake do I look? Go ahead, shoot. I won't bite."

Kit flushed, all too aware of how weak his story was going to be, then asked, "I brought my canoe… wanna head on down to the lake for a while?"

Both of Nita's eyes popped open, and for a moment, Kit thought she was going to get up and leave. But she merely rolled over onto her stomach and asked, "What do I need?"

Kit grinned. "Nothing you don't have. A paddle, a life jacket, a water bottle, a fishing pole, and some common sense. That's about it."

He jerked his head toward his Silverado and smiled. "I have everything in the truck… except for the common sense. You need any, Neets?"

She started at him, and he backpedaled toward the truck a few feet, then chuckled and popped the tonneau cover. He heaved out a well-worn, two-person canoe, two paddles, and his backpack. He staggered slightly under the canoe's weight, and Nita reluctantly got up to help him. Together, they set the canoe down on the riverbank, struggled into a life jacket apiece, and Nita slid back into her sandals. She looked at Kit, frowned, then asked, "Aaaand how, exactly, are we going to get in?"

Kit grinned wickedly at her.

"Jump."

He seized Nita around her waist and picked her up bodily. She made a surprised noise, then glared at Kit as he staggered toward the river.

"Remind me to kill you one of these days," she told him.

Kit shrugged, pushed the canoe into the river, and placed Nita gently into the rear of the canoe. Grabbing his tackle box, he clambered in forward of her, and, with Nita's help, pushed the canoe off the rocks and began the journey downstream.

Nita quickly caught on to the idea of paddling, and, as the banks of the river rushed past in a blur, matched Kit stroke for stroke, powering the canoe straight as an arrow downstream.

The afternoon seemed to blur past for Kit and Nita, wholly uneventful except for a good three hours worth of fishing, paddling, and water fighting, and they returned to camp cold, wet, and semi-tired.

**__**

( Nita pushed the canoe to the back of the pickup's bed and slammed the tonneau cover down, shivering in the cool of the evening.

"How's the campfire going, Kit?" she called over one shoulder.

Kit had fireproofed an area of the campsite and started a tiny flame in the center of a rock circle. He glanced up from tossing donated twigs and branches onto the fire and nodded. "It's alive," he responded cheerfully, poking the fire with a twig.

Nita joined him, glancing around at the steadily lengthening shadows. "It's getting kind spooky out here, Kit," she grinned. "Think there's any cougars out there?"

A calico blur traveled from the riverbank to the fireside in a few short lopes, pawing water off its slick coat.

Kit chuckled and stroked Emily. "Only this one," he said, ducking as Ponch sailed over his head and into the flickering shadows, where he hunkered down and put his head on his front paws.

Nita stared into the crackling, orange-and-red depths of the fire, then asked suddenly, "Hey, Kit? What was your first date like?"

Kit looked at her like she'd grown a giant mole, and she could feel herself starting to blush.

"Why?" he asked quizzically.

Nita shrugged. "Just out of curiosity," she said nonchalantly, praying that Kit couldn't see her blush.

Kit stared for a few more minutes, then lay back, his expression faintly unhappy.

"Well… let's see. Remember Becca Laneys?"

Nita nodded. "Yeah… go on."

"I… I called her up and asked her 'Hey, Becca? Um, wouldja like you like to meet and maybe see a movie?' First… I remember this pretty clearly…first she said no, she had some plans for the night. And then, all of a sudden, I hear her stop and say 'All right'…" )**__**

Kit finished his narrative, then sighed unhappily.

"Yup. She dumped me a few days later."

Nita watched him flick a glance at her, then back at the ground, his cheeks slowly flushing red.

There was an awkward silence broken only by the crackle of the fire and the twilight serenade of crickets.

Kit sighed. "S'mores sound good?"

Nita nodded, then, abruptly, leaned over and kissed Kit full on the lips. Surprised, Kit was about to pull away instinctively, but then realized just _who_ he was kissing, and instead put his arms around Nita, pulling her close. Kit deepened the kiss, knowing this was going to be one of the moments he would remember for the rest of his life as he gently moved his lips against Nita's, slowly sinking deeper into the kiss. Kit heard Ponch sniff disdainfully beside him, but didn't care any more, he was kissing Nita, and that was all that mattered.

Or so he thought.

"Kit?! Nita?!"

Kit and Nita both felt the same thought simultaneously go through their minds.

Oh…crap…


	7. Caught

__

Chapter 7

Caught

Dairine stood behind her older sister and Kit, grinning widely, her hands on her hips. The classic you-two-are-so-busted look on her face made Nita feel slightly sick as she made a pathetic attempt to lie her way out of the situation. Why, in all those games of Worst-Case-Scenario she'd played with her family, wasn't there a card titled _Your Younger Sibling Catches You Kissing Your Crush_?

"Um…h-hey, Dari…! Wh-whatcha doing here? I was just…um…reaching to grab the car keys from behind Kit… and… um…"

Dairine watched Nita stammer her excuse, then, finally, as Nita neared total panic, sighed, "All right… whatever. I won't say anything… _this_ time. Next time…" She trailed off, then, acting as if nothing had happened, said, "You guys are staying here-yes, _here_, Nita-for the next eight hours. Tomorrow morning, you're outta here and on your way to California. And, guess what? You guys get a whole three weeks in the Golden State… to go _wherever_."

"And," she added, looking slyly at Nita, "to _do_ whatever you want…", emphasizing the 'do' with a raise of her eyebrows.

Before Nita could do so much as to get up and attempt to deck her, Dairine had smartly retreated back across the campground and into the surrounding copse.

Kit, who had been quiet throughout this whole exchange, stood slowly, saying, "So…how about those s'mores?"

He watched Nita, anxious to see how she responded to this, and was relieved when she moved her gaze back to him, nodding her approval of the idea. "Thanks, Kit."

As he turned, Nita asked, "Hey… where's Ponch?"

For the black dog had vanished from the campsite sometime during the exchange between Nita and Dairine. Kit, puzzled, looked around him, then whistled. "Hey, Ponch! C'mere…"

A dark shape leapt from the bed of Kit's pickup and bounded toward him, a box of graham crackers in his mouth. Kit rolled his eyes and nudged Ponch back toward the fire. "You can't be hungry _already_…I thought I just fed you!"

Ponch dropped the box of crackers beside Nita and curled up beside her, glancing at his owner over his shoulder. _I have a high metabolism._

Nita burst out laughing as Kit buried his face in his hands, muttering, "I _told_ mom not to use big words around him…"

Heaving a huge sigh, he rummaged around in the bed of the pickup for a while, muttering darkly to himself as he somehow managed to pull a bag of jumbo marshmallows and a bar of Hershey's Milk Chocolate out of the bottomless abyss that was his pickup bed. Slamming the tailgate, he took aim, and neatly arced the bag of marshmallows at Nita's back. A few seconds later, he ducked as the bag sailed back over his head, laughing good-naturedly as he retrieved the bag and joined Nita at the campfire. He looked around, then plucked two sticks off the ground, handing one to Nita and opening the bag of marshmallows up. Nita reached over, then promptly leaned back and caught the marshmallow Kit tossed at her forehead, spearing it and holding it over the crackling flames, watching it slowly turn golden. Kit did likewise, then settled back, gazing up into the clear night sky.

"You know," he said softly, watching Emily nibble cautiously at the marshmallow he'd placed in front of her, "I've always wanted to do that."

Nita looked at him, blushing furiously. "Oh. Um… okay…"

Kit looked at her, going red as well. "Yeah, I know it was kinda random… but… well, it's just a really…vivid situation. I mean… well, you know what I mean…"

Thoroughly embarrassed, Nita nodded bemusedly, avoiding Kit's gaze. He shrugged, sighed, then asked, "So… whaddya want to do in California? Anyplace special you wanted to go…?"

Nita absentmindedly watched her marshmallow blacken on one side, then combust and burn. She made an irritated noise and blew it out, then flicked the burnt crust off the sugar puff and popped it into her mouth.

Kit watched the brief, hugely entertaining spectacle of Nita's face as she gagged on the odd taste of burnt marshmallow. He fell over laughing, but quickly stopped when his _stick_ caught fire, the marshmallow having long crisped, caught fire again, and fallen off the stick and into the fire. Kit blew the flame out, then sighed and touched Nita's shoulder gently, a very clear gesture of affection that caused Nita's heart to leap inside her chest. She smiled at him as he stood and grinned back at her. "See you in the morning, Neets."

She watched him walk toward the tent, kick his shoes off, and disappear inside. Her gray eyes stayed on the tent flap for several minutes until she felt an extreme heat very close to her hand.

"Ow!"

The burning stick fell into the campfire, and Nita, having had more than enough experience with the fire for tonight, leaned back and looked at Ponch, who was busy chewing on the graham crackers. She sighed, grinned widely, stroked the silk fur on the dog's head, and retired to the tent, tossing the wizardry equivalent of a bucket of water onto the fire as she slipped into her sleeping bag. She was almost instantly claimed by sleep and sank into dream.


	8. Walking in Cali

****

A/N: Sorry it's such a sudden transition in time… I wrote about 9 versions of this chapter before deciding on this one… WOO-HOO SCHOOL'S OUT!!! Well… for me, at least. Summer-themed chappies on the way!

To Raiona: I'll try and explain that better, thanks, though. So far, only two more cars might be added, and I'll try and work them more into the plotlines somehow.

Wind Cat: Thanks. I've been trying to make those interactions good.

Random Nameless Person: "Spooky" by the Young Rascals

Pink Panther Lady: It's kind of explained in this chappie. And, as for the cars… well… two more.I wasn't originally planning to have the Mustang play too big a part in this, but… it can change…!

Anyways, now… to the story.

__

Chapter 8

Walking In Cali

Nita looked up from her game of Solitaire, her gaze on Kit, who sat on the edge of the springy hotel bed, chewing thoughtfully on his index fingernail and reading a book on muscle cars. She sighed a couple times before Kit looked up at her.

"Something caught in your throat?" he asked bemusedly.

Nita rolled her eyes, turning her head so that Kit couldn't see the grin that, despite all other commands from her brain, spread across her face.

"Nah… I'm fine. You go back to your reading. Though I don't see, exactly, how this is going to get you a new car…"

She caught the faint mental imprint of a grin from Kit.

"You'll see," he said mysteriously.

Nita nodded and returned to her game. Her curiosity promptly overcame her, and, heaving a sigh, turned back around to Kit's irritatingly knowing look and sparkling eyes.

"How?" she said, trying her best to look disdainful.

Kit merely shook his head, further vexing her. "I told you, you'll see!"

"When?" Nita persisted, trying to gain more knowledge.

"By tomorrow. Now go back to your game!"

Nita stuck her tongue out at him but obliged, rolling her eyes yet again as she did so.

Kit listened for a while as Nita muttered to herself, working her way through her game, then returned to his book and a page on the famed Shelby Cobra. He ran his finger along the materials and build statistics, then grinned and turned a few pages to the factory blueprints, where he began eagerly taking notes, pausing now and then to rub one temple with a finger as he pondered and thought.

They spent the best part of two hours in their own separate worlds, and it was only when three PM rolled around that Nita stood up, finally having won her battle against herself, and declared, "I'm going down to the beach. Coming?"

Kit looked up and rubbed his eyes, giving Nita a quick smile that left her heart thumping just a bit faster in her chest. Feeling her face go hot, she fervently hoped that it wasn't too obvious that she really _was_ crushing on him, having spent the whole drive to their current location in Huntington Beach persuading Kit that their shared kiss was 'merely a _friendly_ thing.' The only reason she had attempted to convince him was the amount of teasing that Dairine fed her, and the fact that there was no other leverage that would bother her little sister, as Dairine's relationship with Mark Hinlek didn't matter to 'The Runt' any more.

__

Dammit… she thought to herself. _He really _is _hot…_

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted as Kit's voice cut across her train of thought.

"Alright… might as well. There's not much else to do."

Nita nodded, shut off her laptop, and, making for the door, glanced over her shoulder at Kit, smiling coyly at him.

"You coming or what?"

Kit blushed slightly, muttered something, and closed the book, getting up to go follow Nita.

As he followed her out to the beach, the golden spots of light rippling in her wavy hair caught his eye, and he spent most of the walk down to the beach just watching the lights dance through her auburn hair. She glanced over her shoulder curiously at Kit, who promptly snapped back to attention.

"What?" she inquired curiously.

Kit blushed, and, knowing he'd sound like a total idiot saying what he was really doing, merely put on a straight face and lied, "There was a piece of lint in your hair. It's gone."

Nita seemed satisfied with this explanation, and passed no further comment as she stepped onto the welcoming white-sand beach off the coast of Southern California. Kit caught up with her, casually slipping his arm around her. She blushed, rolled her eyes, and slapped playfully at his hand. He pulled back, looking scandalized.

"What was that for?" he asked, a faint aura of laughter hanging in his eyes like a low, permanent fog. Nita looked into Kit's clear brown eyes and found that she could see straight through to his soul. Reluctantly ungluing her gaze, she looked at his worn-out Nikes instead, trying to hide an unexplainable grin and said in her best puppy-dog voice, "I dunno… sowwy, Kit…"

She burst into a fit of laughter as Kit, also laughing, gave her a good, hard shove.

Her t-shirt hit him full in the face, followed quickly by her jeans.

Before Kit could recover, Nita gave him a gentle push.

"You coming or what?"

Kit folded Nita's jeans and tossed them onto the ground. He looked at her and realized she'd put on a bikini after her quick shower she'd taken to wake herself up. She grinned at him. "You bring trunks?"

Kit nodded and, reluctantly turning away, pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the ground. He turned to Nita, who rolled her eyes and made for the diving platform. Heaving a sigh, Kit followed her into the brisk, cool waters of the Pacific Ocean.


	9. So CLOSE

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Chapter 9

So CLOSE…

Kit staggered out of the waves, having swallowed more than enough of his share of the ocean. Slicking water out of his dark hair, he sighed as he waited for Nita to finish her long, drawn-out conversation with a disgruntled starfish slowly making its way back to the clam it was trying to open. Seeing her auburn head finally bob to the surface of the water, he sent her a quick thought.

__

Hurry up, Neets…

All right, all right, I'm hurrying!

Kit sighed and sat down in the warm sand, looking curiously around at the garage that had sent his bent, twisted, and charred Silverado into the scrapyard.

The incident had occurred on the way to the hotel; Kit's truck had been broadsided by an Excursion running a red light. The truck had ended up forty-eight feet and five eighths of an inch away from the impact point, on its roof, whereas the Excursion suffered a bent and damaged hood and bumper. It was, perhaps, lucky that Kit and Nita had the sense to put up shield spells before leaving Adirondack Park, as it probably saved their lives.

The driver of the Excursion was arrested for DUI.

As it was, Kit had an old Mustang for a car, and $23,690 in damages for the totaled Silverado. Oh, happy day.

Nita, on the other hand, was unimpressed: she knew she'd have to go through another few hours of car shopping with Kit.

Joy.

Dripping wet and coughing, Nita stumbled up to Kit, wiping the salt water out of her eyes and looking blearily at her wizardry partner.

"Now what?"

Kit shrugged noncommittally. "Whatever, I guess… What d'_you_ want to do?"

A wicked glint appeared in Nita's gray eyes, and Kit immediately began to wish he had never said that.

"I wanted to make that kiss up to you," she said confidently.

__

WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU SAYING, CALLAHAN? her mind screamed at her.

Kit looked at her carefully. "What?"

__

Now's your chance, Callahan. Make something up…

"That kiss. You know, the one that got interrupted?"

Kit flushed, and, by some wonderfully strange miracle, his eyes locked on to hers, boring deep into her slate gray irises.

There was no stopping it from there.

Unless, of course, the inevitable happened.

Nita was about to turn her head sideways and move in for the kiss when another, more familiar voice cut in.

"Nita… K… _Nita?_"

The effect was dramatic and painful.

Both teens jumped at the same time, whipping around and effectively cracking their heads against one another.

Carl watched them stagger apart, clutching their aching heads, an amused look on his face.

Kit finally looked at him through watering eyes, ruefully touching the rising lump on his head.

"What?" he asked, somewhat irritably.

Despite the waves of immense pain shooting through her skull, Nita managed to step on his foot.

Carl winced as he bit into his cheek hard enough to draw blood, trying desperately to keep from laughing.

Once he had managed to calm himself down, he inquired smoothly, "So… how long… have you been… um… _with_ each other?"

Nita blushed indignantly. "We're _not together_!" she said heatedly.

But her eyes told the real story.

Carl sighed, and, despite his immense curiosity, dropped the subject. "So, how's the camping trip going?"

Kit didn't bother asking how he knew, but just sighed and said, "It's okay… nothing major's happened so far…"

The opportunity was too good to pass up. "Nothing… like… say, kissing Nita?"

Both teens went red. "_CARL!_"

Carl hastily backed away. "Okay, okay… just kidding. Jeez…"

Nita, still pink in the face, inquired, "So, what're you doing down here?"

Carl shrugged. "Selling airtime… what else?"

"In _California_?"

"Yeah. Some nutters in one of the TV places around here wanted a commercial done… they're spreading across the country."

"Oh."

"Well… nothing major's happened in New York… so…"

Carl looked at his watch and swore colorfully. "I gotta go… sorry… I'm late as it is. You two can go back to doing… whatever you were doing."

He retreated back to his ancient Nissan sedan, started up the engine, and laid rubber out of the beach parking lot and onto the intersecting street.

Kit turned back to Nita, a smile spreading across his face.

"So, now, where were we?"


	10. Unbelievable

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To those that have kindly taken their time to review: Thanks SO much, I read each one of your reviews and try to take the advice to heart. Thank you for your time, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. And I promise, I _will_ answer your questions. Possibly in the next chapter.

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Chapter 10

Unbelievable

They had come _so close_ to enjoying a nice amount of time with each other. Why did Carl have to pick _that_ moment to show up?

__

Oh, come off it, Rodriguez, Kit thought bitterly. _It's not as if she's actually in love with you…_

Thank god, said a tiny voice at the back of Kit's mind. _I've got enough to deal with as it is. Besides, why would she pick _you_ over Ronan? She clearly likes him better…_

Kit glanced at Nita, who was engaged in assembling a jigsaw puzzle on the hardwood desk in one corner of the hotel room, and felt a surge of jealously toward Ronan pass through his body. This was immediately followed by a pounding wave of guilt. He had no business playing matchmaker with his best friend. She would like who she liked.

__

Although I wish it was me, Kit thought, feeling sorry for himself.

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Nita snapped another piece into place, ruminating on her relationship with Kit as she searched for another border piece. Whatever was happening between them, it didn't make any sense to her.

__

Why is it suddenly so hard to look at him… to stop thinking about him? she wondered. _He's still Kit… right?_

She found the elusive border piece, and snapped it into place.

Then, as she sighed and reached for one of the pieces that formed part of one of the clouds hovering in the bloodred sunset sky, the thought struck her. She froze, her hand halfway to the piece.

__

What if I'm in love with him? Not just a crush… actually… in love?

Nita felt her heartbeat increase with something she dimly recognized as total shock. _No way… he's just Kit… right?_

She felt horribly uncomfortable and oddly warm, though the evening was cool, and the room's AC was on.

__

No way possible. He's Kit. Your partner in wizardry…

Your extremely hot_ partner in wizardry,_ a mocking voice said from the back of her conscious mind.

Nita felt the warmth increase hugely, and, to her horror, she realized she was blushing furiously.

__

No way. He's just plain ole Kit! There's nothing special about him.

Except for those eyes… piped up the voice again. _He has the _hottest_ eyes…_

Orlando Bloom… think Orlando Bloom… Nita squeezed her eyes shut with frustration, struggling heroically to rid her mind of the conclusion she had come to.

__

Nita, stop lying to yourself. You've just found Mister Right, and you're gonna PASS HIM UP_?_

But… Mister Right… it CAN'T be Kit…!

And why not?

Because…be-because…

Because he's not the guy of your dreams? Not tall, dark, and handsome, huh? You love him, Nita. Admit it.

Nita couldn't bear it anymore.

With a sigh of confused resignation, she slammed her head down on the desk, burying it in her arms as she tried to make sense of the information she had just been given.

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Kit watched Nita's trembling form as she stared blankly at the wall, and wondered if she was going into convulsions.

Without warning, there was a clearly audible _thunk_ as she whacked her head down on the desk before burying it in the comforting shelter of her folded arms.

Enough strangeness was enough. Kit sighed, got to his feet, and walked over to where Nita sat, placing a hand on her shoulder in what he deemed to be a comforting manner. She stiffened and sat up, twisting around to look into his face. A tinge of red crept across her face as she glared up at him, her gray eyes sparkling, not with annoyance, but with uncertainty.

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Nita had just barely begun to grasp the huge piece of information she had been hit over the head with when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Annoyed, she went rigid, then sat up and twisted around to stare into Kit's face, as she had done so many times before. But this time, it seemed different. Just staring into his face held a whole new… significance to her. But his face had… matured…apparently, since the last time she had looked into his face a few days ago.

To put it simply, Nita's gray eyes widened as she looked him up and down and realized, _Damn… he _is_ hot…_

And then promptly blushed.

__

Oh crap oh crap oh crap… now what? she wondered, her thoughts focusing suddenly on everything _but_ what to do in a situation like hers.

So she improvised.

And did the first thing that came to mind.

"Do me a favor, Kit? Help me with this?"

__

Oh, wow, Callahan. You've just won the Ranking of World's Dumbest Person! Smoooooth. Real smooth.

Kit looked at her, then shrugged and grinned, causing Nita to blush and avert her gaze.

"I guess so…"

He checked his watch. "Tell you what. I gotta go buy groceries somewhere out here… I'll help you out for fifteen minutes before I head out. I'm taking Ponch with me, so you and Emily can share a bit of girl talk."

Nita made a face at him, and he laughed.

__

Powers… he is_ hot…_

Kit knelt beside her and began assembling from one corner, while Nita expanded from the one across from him.

Their hands touched once, and they both jerked back, both blushing furiously as they did so.

Fifteen minutes passed by relatively quickly, and Nita tossed Kit the keys to her Element, saying, "Go for it. And don't come back with a T-Bird instead of groceries."

Kit rolled his eyes at her, winked, and disappeared.

Nita immediately sighed, looked at the jigsaw, got up, and walked away from the puzzle.

__

I am such an insensitive dork, she thought viciously. _Why didn't I see it before?_

What, that he's the hottest thing to walk this planet?

Nita, despite the crimson blush that colored her cheeks, had to agree.

__

See, I told you I was right… you think he's kissable.

Um…

Huggable.

Er…

Loveable…

Uh….

Unbelievable…

Well…

You think he's a hunk, don't you…?

Nita blushed furiously, it wasn't her mind, but Emily that had asked this.

Wondering how the cat knew the word 'hunk', she nodded miserably.

Emily rolled onto her feet and bounced across the bed to Nita, who slumped against the footboard of the bed, closing her eyes in despair.

__

Nita's got a boy-friend… Emily snickered, then composed herself and sneezed delicately.

__

You know, he is_ quite attached to you,_ Emily mewed. _He told me once he didn't know how he ever got along without you._

Nita glanced at the kitten now perched atop the footboard, hope now glittering in her eyes. "Serious?"

__

Yeah. He was really upset when you guys last fought… that's when he told me.

A pink tinge of pleasure rose into Nita's cheeks, and, curious, asked, "What else?"

__

He told me he was jealous of Ronan… because Ronan got you… and Kit was alone… Nita, he was afraid of losing you.

Another blush, from a sudden wave of affection for Kit, spread across Nita's face. She made a mental note to herself that when she saw Kit again, to give him a huge hug.

She was happier than she had ever been in her entire life, and there was nothing to bring her down.

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****

A/N: Nope, no cliffie in this one, chaps.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own, in any way, any of the Young Wizards series, the series' characters, or Diamond Rio's wonderful song 'Unbelievable'. Thanks for understanding, chaps. Wot!


	11. Kick it Up a Notch!

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A/N: I don't own YW, much less Emeril.

Chapter Eleven

Kick it Up a Notch!

Nita sighed and pushed the finished puzzle border away from her, watching in mild amusement as Emily batted pensively at a piece. Heaving a sigh, Nita brushed her auburn hair out of her eyes and wondered how, exactly, they could proceed from their skirting-the-crush-subject stage and go on into full boyfriend-girlfriend stage.

__

They make it seem so _damn easy in those soaps… Bob goes up to Mary, says, 'I really like you', and, boom. Instant couple. It's different with me and Kit… it's… _real_…_

Emily swatted aside the puzzle piece and scampered over to Nita, rubbing against her chin. _Yes, it's real, but it's really not that hard. _Show_ him you like him. Maintain eye contact, buy him presents, help him… or maybe even tell him._

Nita looked sideways at the calico, who was now daintily washing behind one ear. "Where did you learn this from, Emily?"

Emily, unfazed, started on the other ear. "Carmela."

This was greeted by a roll of Nita's eyes and a smile. "Carmela's finally got a boyfriend, huh?"

Evidently hit by the impact of what she'd just revealed, Emily pranced off, saying nothing more.

Nita thoughtfully chewed on one fingernail, planning the beginning of the downfall of the barrier separating her wizardry partner from her.

__

Let's kick it up a notch.

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A pressing silence filled the air between Kit and Nita as he sat down, a Sobe in one hand, pushing Nita a Coke with the other.

Kit took a swig of his Sobe and, with a sigh of contentment, placed it down, only to notice that Nita was fiddling with the cap.

"Neets?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice and went a beautiful shade of crimson. "Er…" she said intelligently.

__

Oh, wonderful day, Callahan. VERY nice comeback. 'Nita?' 'Er…'

"What?" she snapped, embarrassed.

Kit flinched away, and she instantly felt ashamed of herself.

__

Yeah, way to go, Callahan! Chase him away, why don't you?

"Sorry, Neets," Kit said, sounding very sorry indeed.

Nita forced herself to relax. "Go ahead, Kit…"

Kit, now a slight shade of pink, continued, somewhat more quickly.

"What's eating you? You've been really… moody… these past few days… you won't even really talk to me anymore. You okay?"

__

No, Kit, I'm not okay. I'm hopelessly in love with you…

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Kit nodded and took a sip of his Sobe.

Nita stared down at the tabletop and listened to the voices in her head begin to wage a war against one another.

__

Say it. Just say it.

No, he's gonna laugh at me… and I'm afraid for our partnership…

SAY IT. I DON'T CARE, JUST SAY IT.

But…

Look, Nita, you've been watching the poor boy's every move since eighth grade, you like him. JUST SAY IT…

But…

SAY IT.

Before Nita could argue, the last voice had pushed the words out of his mouth.

"Kit, I love you."

He looked at her cautiously. "Say what?"

"I love you. And this isn't just… friendly, 'Love, Nita' thing, it's 'Kit, I really, really love you'…"

Kit looked away, out the window, and Nita was horrified to see him turn pale.

__

Oh God, here it comes…

Brown eyes met gray, and Kit murmured, "I love you too, Neets…"

Nita could bear it no longer. She lunged across the table, grabbed Kit, and pulled him towards her, meeting his lips in what looked to be the makings of a nice, long, uninterrupted kiss.

They had barely gotten used to the feel of the other's mouth and deepened the kiss when another _pop _made itself extremely audible in their immediate vicinity.

__

Oh God, no, not now_… _Nita thought, horrified.

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****

A/N: Yup, ANOTHER cliffie. Sorry, folks, but it's the best I could do out of thirteen and a half tries.

Read and review! I would like at least five reviews before I post again! No, scratch that. I REQUIRE at least five reviews before I post again.


	12. My Girl

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A/N: Hmm… this looks familiar. I don't own YW, much less… The Temptations

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Chapter Twelve

My Girl

Kit, dreading to see whom, exactly, was standing in the middle of the hotel room, promptly squeezed his eyes shut, silently willing Nita to greet the intruder…

"Well, well, well…"

__

Oh, no… that's not…

"TOM?"

Kit fell back into his chair, reluctantly opening his eyes.

Tom Swale looked expectantly at them both, clearly waiting for them to come up with a suitable explanation for their behavior.

Nita went a bright red as she stammered out something unintelligible even to Kit's ears.

"Ummmmnnhlllppkttt…"

A wicked grin plastered itself onto Tom's face. One look at that face told Nita and Kit that, yeah, they were done for.

__

So, Neets… where do you want to be buried?

Trying to hide a blush and look inconspicuous at the same time, Nita stomped on Kit's foot.

__

Ow…

"So this is what Carl was trying to tell me about," Tom mused. "…_very_ interesting."

Nita, on the verge of saying something, froze, her mouth hanging open stupidly.

"Lllp…"

Tom, oblivious to Nita's pathetic attempts at a comeback, continued.

"Yes… How come it took you two so long? _We _knew a few years ago…"

Kit buried his face in his hands, not daring to move or look up as Tom began lecturing them for not telling their Seniors, of all people.

Luckily for both teens, Tom ran out of breath ten minutes later, just before they ran out of blood to rush to their faces.

"Okay… _now_," Tom began, "for the important stuff. _Stay out of Los Angeles._ Trust me, you don't want to know the reasons why."

Before either of them could react, he had winked, said loudly, "Don't get _too_ involved with each other," and vanished.

A very uncomfortable silence fell between Nita and Kit, who both remained staring at the spot where Tom had just been. With a visible effort, Nita turned back to Kit, smiling weakly at him.

"Does this mean we can hold hands now?" Kit inquired curiously, if not a little faintly.

Nita looked at him, smiled, and nodded.

"Does this mean I can actually kiss you now?" she asked shyly.

Kit smiled as only he could, and leaned toward Nita, tilting his head sideways.

Nita allowed a faint smile to cross her face, then leaned tentatively toward Kit.

She pressed her lips to his.

Kit placed an arm around her, drawing her close as his other hand stroked her tangled auburn hair, reverently running it though his fingers as he deepened the kiss.

Caught up in the emotions of the kiss, neither of them noticed Tom and Carls' faces pressed to the first-floor window, watching them with huge smiles on their faces.

And even if they did, they wouldn't have cared.

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A/N: sighs Yeah, they finally did it. Sorry it was so short… I just plain ran out of ideas. 5 reviews? Please?


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